Metropolitan fragmentation vs. new regionalism and the evolving nature of metropolitan governance: An analysis of growth politics and policy in the capital region of upstate New York

Development in the urban and metropolitan context continues to be a vibrant area of scholarship and debate in the social sciences. This study continues and augments this research by examining two overarching issues: first, how development at the local level is impacted by fragmented political structures and inter-municipal relations, and second, the extent to which local, non-profit organizations and state agencies whose policies involve land-use planning and environmental conservation, are addressing issues of uneven- and parochial-centered development as a by-product of political fragmentation.;This study relies on the case-study method and uses the Albany-Schenectady-Troy metropolitan area in upstate New York as the analytical context. Data come from in-depth, qualitative interview- and archival sources. Structured and semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with local elected leaders, local planning officials, heads of government agencies, and leaders within the economic development- and nonprofit sectors. The archival data comprise an array of primary sources including newspaper articles, minutes from government and organizational meetings, and organizational and governmental pamphlets and websites.;Political fragmentation and inter-municipal/regional relations align to form what I call a "regional opportunity structure" that has important consequences on the resource levels of communities, a community's ability to capitalize on or exploit existing resources, and its capability of successfully implementing coherent and comprehensive development plans. Therefore, local growth coalitions must be studied in ways that take into account stratified regional contexts maintained, in part, by political fragmentation. A community's growth coalition, therefore, cannot be examined in isolation from growth coalitions in neighboring communities, jurisdictions, as well as the context in which the community lies within the hierarchical region.;Local organizations and state agencies have an impact on facilitating inter-municipal and regional land-use and development outcomes. The study finds that state agencies are best suited to foster regional planning and development cooperation. In comparison to non-profit organizations, public agencies carry the weight of the state as well as strategic cross-agency communication important for achieving policy implementation. Although non-profit organizations play a role, questions remain surrounding the extent to which such groups represent "shadow" or privatized government and the effect this may have on the wider public interest.